Togetsu-kyo Bridge

Kyoto

Different look each season
Masterpiece of natural scenic beauty

Togetsukyo is a 155-meter bridge over the Katsura River flowing leisurely in Saga Arashiyama, a well-known scenic place in the ancient capital of Kyoto. The artistic form of the bridge excellently matches the nature and is a symbol of sightseeing in Kyoto as embodying the aesthetic sense of Japanese people.

The name of the bridge, Togetsu which means "Moon crossing" stems from lore that when Emperor Kameyama, during the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333), went boating on the river under a full moon, he said the moon looked like crossing the bridge. The current bridge, rebuilt in 1934, appears wooden but has columns and beams all made of reinforced concrete. Only parapets use cypress. There are lots of souvenir shops at the foot of the bridge, while rickshaws go back and forth there, creating a traditional Japanese atmosphere.

Arashiyama, a mountain with an altitude of 375 meters south of the bridge, becomes full of cherry blossoms in spring and covered by red leaves in autumn. Coated with snow in winter, the mountain looks as if it were in an ink-and-wash drawing. Seasonal changes of the mountain scenery move and please visitors anew whenever they visit there.